I took the Mcat the first time in May 29th 2010 and got a 32L: 14PS 8VR 10BS I thought that was not the best I can do so I take it again in July 30 and end up with a 30M 11PS 8VR 11BS. I am thinking about taking it the third time but I am not sure if I should do that. Please give me your opinion. My GPA is 3.66 and 3.69 for sci in case you want to know. Thank you very much.
Very discouraged. Please Help.
- Thread starter FattySlug
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Solid GPA man. And even though that verbal is a bit low, you killed the sciences man. I guess it all depends on what kind of school you are aiming at. I think those stats will get you into a LOT of places though.
But, hey, don't beat yourself up. You are well on your way towards becoming a doctor. If it were me, I'd apply with those stats. But you have to do what YOU feel is the best for YOU. If you take another shot, find out why you are struggling the verbal and then practice, Practice, PRACTICE. I'm sure you have heard that before.
Trust your gut.
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Don't retake. You already shot yourself in the foot by retaking after a 32. The chances of your score going down again are appreciable enough that it would certainly be a gamble for you to retake.
Instead of wasting more time studying for MCAT, you would be best served to beef up the peripherals on your application. You have an MCAT / GPA combo that will put your foot in the door at the majority of US MD schools. Go out and meet people, see things, and live life; not only will that make you a better applicant but it will make you a better doctor and a better person.
Yea I know I screwed up by taking it again but I was trying to get in a Med school in CA and I don't think 32L will give me much of a chance. My number one is USC. Anyway it is hard for me to imagine I could sink any lower than 30 because generally I am a very good test taker. I guess my question comes down to would it help if I take it again and do better? or you think it does not matter unless I score a 37 in the next retake. Again thank you all for your replies.
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As I said, you would be better served applying your free time elsewhere. The chances of you actually getting that 37 are low at this point, and are low enough that it just doesn't seem to be worthwhile to spend another 150+ hours studying for a test that you've already done well enough on.
If you are deadset for California schools, then retaking becomes your best option, probably. If I were you, I would at least spend some time over the next few days thinking about whether you would be happy to move somewhere new. I am not aware of your personal circumstances, but from an objective point of view, your best option is to see where your MCAT scores can take you. With a 32, you still have a solid chance at your state schools if you have a well-rounded application.
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The thing of the matter is you have an 8 in VR on both of your exams. If you can't raise that VR score, it really doesn't matter how much more you can gain from other sections. Your chance of repeating another 8 is really high, so I would advice you to go ahead and apply broadly. Unless you can bring that VR to a 10 or higher, then don't bother to retake. If you unfortunately score a 7 on your 3rd retake, then your chance of ending up anywhere will diminish greatly. So you see, you have a high risk, low reward situation. I agree with others that you should strengthen your application in other avenues.
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I'm in a (kind of) similar situation. I got a 29 and am retaking because I feel like it didn't reflect my abilities (GPA and sGPA 3.83 from a top school). HOWEVER I'm about to retake and my practice tests are only 30-31, so it looks like I'm not going to be getting much higher than that. The point is, to get into my top choice I pretty much need a 33 or 34 and it probably just isn't gonna happen at this point. So the point is you (and I as well) have a big decision: either to try again-- and probably spend 2-3 times the amount of time you spent the past 2 tries (maybe take a class if you didn't, get some private tutoring, or somehow find a way to study that is very different from how you approached it the first two times) OR just decide that you want to be a doctor, regardless of where you end up doing your schooling and compromise on going to a school that is not your top choice.
Those seem like your only options and really only you can make the ultimate decision.
Is it better to study a ton more, spend more time and money and potentially not even achieve your goal, or give up your dream school? It's a tough one...
Those seem like your only options and really only you can make the ultimate decision.
Is it better to study a ton more, spend more time and money and potentially not even achieve your goal, or give up your dream school? It's a tough one...
If I were you I would definitely take it again. At least bring it up to 30+. Good luck in your retake. I doubt you would have the time to come back to this thread anymore 😀.
As for me I already decided to take it again since I rushed into the second retake which was a terrible mistake on my part. After the first test I took one month off and study for one month for the retake so I could definitely spend more time studying this time around. Thanks for all the reply guys. I appreciate your help.
kind of a harsh way to put it, but I'm not gonna deny that it did cross my mind. 32L isn't such a terrible score that it'd warrant a retake but if you felt you could've done betters, thats up to you. I wouldnt retake it a third time, because at some point you've got to realize you may have hit a ceiling, and while it is possible to exceed it, it isn't very likely.
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You're probably trolling, but for what it's worth, there are some schools that require a few points higher to be competitive, and if the OP thinks he can hit that range with a retake, then I don't see why not. Unless he/she gets a 25 on the retake, it's not likely to hurt the overall application. Just the wallet.
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This is coming from the metal that thinks anything over a 30 is overkill.
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Dude, are you stalking me around the forums? You could just tell me you like me. I'm partial to Cabernet Sauvignon. 😉
If you'll care to notice besides finding reason to berate me, the thread you're referencing is discussing whether or not to void (waste his MCAT). I was talking about the guy who basically wanted to void if he didn't think he could get a 35 on the MCAT, which I said was ridiculous, since most people can have a good application with a 30-31 if their stats are well-rounded. Worst case scenario is that he gets a good grade, or even a passable grade, but voids it away due to lack of confidence.
In this thread, I'm stating that SOME schools REQUIRE around a 34-35 in order to be competitive. Mainly upper-tier schools. And, if the guy has decent scores already, wants to get into an upper-tier school, AND has a solid belief that he can get into the competitive range on a retake, then sure, he should go for it. Worst case scenario is that he has to settle for a middle-tier school, depending on the rest of his application.
It's a drastically different situation. Find something better to do with your time. 🙂
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Not to beat a dead horse, but a great score to one person can be another person's worst result. If you're scoring high 30's and get a 32, you're going to be extremely (and rightfully) disappointed. On the flip side, a person scoring mid 20's and then getting a 32 will be ecstatic. If you can't recognize this, well, "I would hate to be your patient."
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Assuming (a) you're not a troll and (b) you mistakenly think House is nonfiction and you are trying to emulate his style, I will bite and reply.
The OP had to make a tough choice to retake, but really had little choice with an 8 in VR. That's just the facts of the matter. I would have reluctantly retaken the test as well, assuming I could pull my verbal up.
So before you drop such a rude response at a forum where rudeness is not the norm, put yourself in the OP's shoes. Had they gotten a 34 (went up by 2 instead of down by 2) that was a 13-10-11 let's say, then it would have been a brilliant decision... in retrospect. It's really easy to make the call after the fact, much like it's easy to say the manager pulled a pitcher too early or a coach called a risky passing play when a run could have worked, AFTER it's all played out.
At this point, I have to agree with TieuBachHo that you should only retake if you believe you can get a 10 in VR.
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You're maxed out on the sciences I think, but you could theoretically improve your verbal. I bumped mine 4 points but I did a lot of verbal-specific prep. Honestly I'd forget about it, b/c it's a risky choice and it'd require a lot of work to assure that you're going to get the improvement you want. I think you'll get some acceptances with your current stats. And, it's diminishing returns after a while b/c most schools will see all your scores anyway.
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I agree with NYR and BerkReviewTeach, in that everyone has different goals and we shouldn't be calling people idiots (or on the flip side gunners) for wanting to do their best.
As far as the OP goes, you're between a rock and a hard place on this one. You could retake but if you get in the 31 range again, it will look very bad that you took 3 times and didn't manage to improve. Unless you can be fairly certain that you can get 10+ on verbal it's just not worth it. If you find that you can't then you're better off taking the 8 and trying to significantly improve another aspect that may be lacking/not perfect.
Hope this helped,
-LIS
As far as the OP goes, you're between a rock and a hard place on this one. You could retake but if you get in the 31 range again, it will look very bad that you took 3 times and didn't manage to improve. Unless you can be fairly certain that you can get 10+ on verbal it's just not worth it. If you find that you can't then you're better off taking the 8 and trying to significantly improve another aspect that may be lacking/not perfect.
Hope this helped,
-LIS
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Spot on advice. VR is the key. Good to see you back btw.
I would like to thank everybody who is continuously giving me advice on this matter. As I said before I wanted to get into a school in CA and a 32 left me no other option but a retake.
To LostInStudy and BerkReviewTeach: it was a tough decision but I have decided to retake the third time because I have not exhausted all resources to practice for verbal; I have not done 101 passage of EK or AAMC practice tests.
I would definitely focus a lot in verbal this time around. Again thank you for your valuable advice.
To LostInStudy and BerkReviewTeach: it was a tough decision but I have decided to retake the third time because I have not exhausted all resources to practice for verbal; I have not done 101 passage of EK or AAMC practice tests.
I would definitely focus a lot in verbal this time around. Again thank you for your valuable advice.
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Good luck 👍
This is an old thread but I want to post one last time to thank the people who have been so supportive. My newest score is 33.
10VR 12PS 11BS.
It is not as high as I had hoped but I achieved the biggest goal which was to raise my VR to 10. Thanks everyone. I am grateful.
I hope that my exp will be encouraging to someone out there who is in a similar situation that I was last year (retake and do worse).
10VR 12PS 11BS.
It is not as high as I had hoped but I achieved the biggest goal which was to raise my VR to 10. Thanks everyone. I am grateful.
I hope that my exp will be encouraging to someone out there who is in a similar situation that I was last year (retake and do worse).
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Congratulations buddy.
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30+ is good dude.
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